7 ways American Express dominates content marketing

How does a Fortune 500 company genuinely connect with consumers? By mastering content marketing. Here’s how American Express is leading the pack.

OPEN Forum is American Express’ original platform for content marketing launched in 2007. What makes it so unique? Here is what the company is doing differently to engage consumers on a genuine level.

Leveraging the voices of experts

It’s a temptation for many brands to get their employees writing and providing material to their branded content channels. However, this strategy often leads to non-credible pieces of branded material. American Express has learned that the only way to establish its authority on its subjects is to call in the experts.

Keeping an obsessive eye on readers interests

How do you align your branded content with relevancy for your readers? In American Express’ case, using data to gain as much insight into the interests of its audience solves this challenge. What are your fans reading most often? What’s resonating with them? Use those answers to craft relevant content for your audience.

Finding the balance between selling, and hiding the sell

Consumers don’t like being sold to, but at the same time, you are tasked with trying to get your readers to become customers and ultimately brand loyalists. American Express has tried to find this balance so that it does not offend customers all while making it clear that its content is sponsored by the brand. While it may be difficult, a good content marketer will say no to pre-roll and banner ads if they feel it tips the scale too far toward advertising.